Phone and Travelling

[Skanky Vamp]

Thankfully I've never had this issue.. still I think the story is interesting. Could have far reaching consequences.
via The Verge

Can border agents compel you to unlock your phone?
A new case in Canada is testing out the law, with potentially serious repercussions. On Monday, a Quebec man named Alain Philippon refused to give the unlock code to his BlackBerry at the Canadian border, and was detained on charges of hindering border agents in the performance of their duties. This is the first time a Canadian citizen has been charged for declining to unlock a phone, and the case is expected to break new legal ground. Philippon said he didn't provide the code because he considers the information on his phone to be "personal." He was released on bail pending a trial in May.

The case deals with issues of encryption and personal privacy that have been debated across a number of legal systems. In America, privacy advocates have successfully argued that forced decryption violates a suspect's Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination, and the Supreme Court ruled last year that domestic searches of a suspect's cell phone require a warrant. In December, the Canadian Supreme Court issued a contrary ruling, allowing for narrow searches of phones when information is freely available. Still, it's unclear where the law will come down in Philippon's case.

 

[white avenger]

It this is correct

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html



1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

That sounds to me more like "privileges as defined by the Government" than "rights."


"Guarantee Of Rights And Freedoms" seems to sound like the term "rights," is defined as "whatever the Government decides that they might be today, with no guarantee that they will be the same thing tomorrow."

(Please, some Canadian forum readers correct me if I've misinterpreted the statement. I have no desire to offend or insult your government)

If that is truly the case, and Canadian law allows them to invade anyone's privacy, then, yes, they can certainly make the man unlock his phone and give them access to everything contained in it.

By way of comparison, the Constitution of the United States clearly states that its citizens have "inalienable rights" that are granted by "their Creator," not any elected or appointed official, so something like that here would be very much more difficult to enforce here.

 

[Mr Trick]

One simply question why were they trying to see his phone anyway? If it is Canadian law then that is dumb. Depending on what they were trying to see then I guess I may or may not had been willing to comply if it was me. But then there is a pricipal to this too.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

No need for this in the US. The NSA already has the data anyway.